12: Swimming Pools

Nolan


I watched as Olivia sashayed down the hall, and tried not to be amused by how bubbly she was when she drank.
After the party, she wanted to explore the yacht without over fifty people on it.

I smiled as her heels clicked against the floor, and followed behind her flowing dress. It was like something out of dream. She was something similar to an angel, and I wanted to reach out any touch her but I knew that I couldn't.

It was a little chilly out, and the stars were shining brightly; as if it were for her. I smiled at her childlike banter, and laughter. Maybe it was the shots, or maybe it was the high of actually pulling this off, but I was enjoying every moment of it.

We were out on the deck, the only light out coming from inside the yacht. "Are you always like this when you drink?" I asked her, and she nodded.

"I've only been drunk once though," she said.

"I like it." I told her, placing my hands in my pocket. "You're way calmer, and less hostile." She slapped my chest playfully, and I smiled softly at her.

Is it possible to like someone you just met in the worst circumstances? Even if I did show that I liked her, would she even notice, or would she think I was only pretending?

We stood on the deck of the boat alone, and I sighed heavily at my own thoughts. "You know," she started, leaning on the rail. "Being married to you would be so fun." She beamed, looking out at the water. "If only you weren't so self centered, arrogant, narcissistic-" I rolled my eyes at her with a sly smile, and cut her off before she could continue.

"Are you done?" I asked her, standing face to face with her.

"You know it's true." She said, shaking her head at me.

"It may be true. But you'd make a really great wife." I can't believe I'm actually admitting these things to her! What the hell did they put in that Rum?! "You know, if we were really married." I added, turning away from her.

"You must love it out here." She said, turning back to face the ocean. "I'm so jealous."

I looked down at her, confused. "Why are you jealous of me?" I asked her, honestly curious.

"You have everything. You want for nothing. And still, you get to come out here and relax. You can just press pause on life." She shrugged. "When you live paycheck to paycheck, the only thing you can really do is pray for a good enough excuse not to go to work that day."

I bit my lip because I simply had nothing to say. I was used to having money, this was just as normal to me as her working in her parents shop. I didn't even realize how much I just took it for granted. Maybe it was a blessing to just be able to get away and think about my Mother. She really would have loved to be here. She would love to see me be married to someone kind, and beautiful. Also, look at my Dad, he's really happy. He hasn't been this happy since she died.

"I'm sleepy." Olivia yawned, pulling me out of my head.

"Okay." I smiled at her, holding her hand. "We can go to bed now.

When we reached our cabin, she sat down on the bed to take off her shoes. "I hope you don't think you're sleeping with me." She scoffed, and I gawked at her. "You're sleeping in the bathroom."

"How come you get the bed?" I asked.

"Because. I'm the woman." She said proudly, and I rolled my eyes.

"Fine, give me a pillow." She threw me a pillow and the top blanket to me, and I made myself comfortable in the tub.

It wouldn't even take that long for me to fall asleep. Good thing this tub was made for two people, so there's enough room to stretch out. I closed my eyes tight, and drifted off to sleep slowly.


~*~

The next morning I woke up to Olivia's singing. She was wrapped in a white bath robe, and placing objects in the bathroom. "Good, you're finally up sleepy head." She smiled, taking her earrings out of her ear. "I can finally shower."

"First you want me in the tub, now you want me out?" I asked her, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"As much as I'm sure you would love to see me naked," she smirked, turning on the shower, "it's not going to happen." She gave me a deadpanned look, and I sighed getting up slowly.

"Fine, I'm going." I told her, grabbing my pillow and blanket. She gave me one last sarcastic smile, then closed the bathroom door in my face. I guess drunk, easy going Olivia is gone now.

Since the bathroom was occupied, I headed out into the dining area, where I knew breakfast would be served. Nova and Jared were already up, and I made myself a breakfast buffet plate. There were mimosas, waffles, fruit, and bacon. I had a little bit of everything.

"How's your fake wife?" Nova joked, and I glared at her.

"Shut up." I said, pouring syrup all over my plate.

"I didn't know you would take it this far," Jared started. "But your dedication is admirable." He laughed, and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Too early for your judgments." I said simply, chowing down on my food. "Besides, all your plans to sabotage me have backfired." I boasted childishly.

We didn't really have a lot of time to talk privately because Olivia made her way into the dining area. "Oh. My. Word!" She shouted when she saw the breakfast buffet. "I have to take a picture because my sister is NOT going to believe this." When I looked over at her, she was wearing the tiniest blue and white striped bikini, and I tried to hide the fact that this was the first time I was seeing her in this light.

Her body was extremely toned for a girl who works in a pizza shop all day, and she even dressed it with belly beads and an anklet. I don't know how to explain it, but I love it when girls take the time to accessorize their bodies. Things like anklets and belly chains really do something to me.

I turned my head away quickly, finishing my food. God I hope no one noticed me staring at her. "You're going swimming?" Nova asked her, actually shocked. It's funny that no one really uses that pool at all when we're here, we mostly just sit around watching tv or being on our phones.

"Duh!" Olivia said, putting a strawberry in her mouth. "I don't know about you, but this could be the last time I ride on a yacht. I'm doing everything!" She said in excitement, sitting down with a full plate.

"You're eating all that?" Jared asked, eyeing her hefty plate.

"I may be skinny," she started, "but I can eat."

"Shouldn't you be swimming first?" Nova asked her, and she stopped mid bite.

"No way! I'd rather wait 20 minutes." She explained, then dug into her plate. "Nothing but time," she said through a full mouth.

"Okay," Nova laughed, shaking her head. Once we were done eating, we made our way to the living area to watch tv. This was our usual routine, but I watched Olivia as she made her way to the deck area, and lied down on one of the loungers.

I picked up one of the magazines off the table while my brother and sister flipped through the channels, the last thing that I wanted to do was get caught watching her. If Jared saw me, I would never live this down. I just couldn't help but look at her though, I don't know what it is about her, but I just can feel myself liking her more and more.

I watched as she closed her eyes and let the sun hit her skin. She stretched her body out like a horizon and ran her fingers through her damp hair. "Didn't know you could read a magazine upside down." Nova joked, snatching the book from me.

"Come on," I whined, as she ran down the hall to her cabin.

"Maybe you were reading something else instead." Jared smirked, and I squinted at him.

"I was just... thinking..." I trailed off. Luckily I didn't have to keep explaining myself, because my dad finally walked in.

"Good morning everyone. What's on the agenda today?" He asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"Binge watching 'Prison Break'," Jared said proudly. "I never seen it before and I think I wanna see what it's about."

"You're an embarrassment." Dad said, grabbing a plate of breakfast.

Jared put the show on, and Nova walked in with her bathing suit on, and we all looked at her. "What?" She asked, holding out her hands. "I want to swim too." She pouted.

"You never did before?" Dad asked.

"That's because no one else did." She shrugged. "I didn't want to feel awkward." My Dad blinked at her, then watched as she happily walked over to the lounge next to Olivia.

"I have a great idea!" My Dad grinned. "Let's all go swimming."

"No." Jared whined, hitting his head with the remote.

"Yes. You can watch tv at home. Let's get some sun." I honestly didn't even protest, I wanted to get closer anyways I just didn't want to be the one to make the suggestion.

My Dad strode over to the couch that overlooked the pool and the lounges. "I forgot how nice it was out here." He said, relaxing with a glass of mimosa in his hand.

I completely ignored him, as I watched Olivia finally stand up to get inside of the pool. Nova got in with her, and it was just a show of her and Nova acting like young children on summer break.

Jared begrudgingly sat on the other side of Dad, and I smiled as I watched Olivia go underneath the water and swim. "She is having the time of her life." My Dad grinned. "I gotta say, I didn't expect you to make such a great choice. Your past relationships seemed a little rocky."

"What can I say, Dad?" I smiled. "I was looking for love in all the wrong places. Turns out, love lived on the poor side of town." Jared scoffed, and I tried not to glare at him.

"There's no such thing as a poor side of town son." He said, shaking his head. "You learned how to pick your woman, but not how to be a decent human. I guess that's my fault..." he trailed off, staring out into the distance. "What should we do for your mothers birthday?" He asked, changing the subject.

"I want to have a nice dinner by candlelight." Jared said. "It was always her favorite."

"And dressing up." I added, remembering how she'd always make us wear suits even though it was only us. Her birthday was always a special occasion. That's why we never stopped celebrating it.

Dealing with losing someone isn't easy; especially if that someone is your Mother. That's why I told myself after she died that I would never fall in love. Why would I pour all of myself into someone that I could lose? Or have children with someone that can eventually be taken away from them? It's not fair. Maybe it's selfish of me, but I vowed that I would spend the rest of this miserable life alone. Plus, there were plenty of blonde haired vixens that I could be alone with. Especially in California.

I looked over at Olivia again, staring blankly at all the joy in her face. That's why this plan is so important to me; my father will know that I tried, we'll have a very public and messy divorce, and he'll relieve me of any future pressures of getting married again. It's the perfect plan! If only I can just keep my damn hands off of her. She's already making that hard.

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